This guided meditation will be a direct inquiry into the nature of who you are.
You will inquire through the self,
Dissolving the boundaries between subject and object.
The motivation for this meditation is to deepen your experiential understanding of your true nature,
And therefore reality.
Listen patiently,
As your self-inquiry will lead you to your experience with no mental effort required.
Trust that what answers might appear in the form of mental constructs is only a further instruction to remain in open,
Clear,
Alert awareness.
So let's begin,
Setting up your posture,
Sitting on a cushion or a chair with your spine in an upright and dignified position.
Placing your hands on your knees,
Tucking your chin slightly,
And allowing your eyes to remain in a soft gaze,
Or closed if you prefer.
We'll begin with three breaths,
In and out through the nose.
So inhaling,
Hold at the top,
And exhale,
Releasing all tension,
Letting it all out.
And inhaling again,
Inhaling in everything good,
Hold at the top,
And exhale,
Releasing all tension,
All limiting beliefs.
And last one,
Inhaling,
And hold at the top,
Taking in a little bit more,
Hold,
And exhale,
Releasing all the air from the lungs.
And returning your breath back to normal,
Just let your mind fall naturally open,
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to be,
But simply here,
Resting,
In open,
Clear,
Alert awareness.
And we're just listening,
Just listening to whatever arises in the moment,
Remaining completely relaxed in the mind,
But fully awake,
Fully alert,
Here,
Now.
Being fully present,
Moment to moment.
Ramana Maharshi taught an inquiry into the nature of the self with the question,
Who am I?
Beginning your inquiry,
Ask yourself the question,
Who am I?
The intention here is to ask the question with a genuine curiosity,
And then remaining completely open.
Who am I?
Who am I?
Simply rest the mind,
And let it relax into itself.
Allow the question to take you to your experience of yourself.
Who am I?
You may notice distraction,
As if the mind attempts to search for an answer.
Recognize when the mind wanders,
And inquire further.
Who is thinking this thought?
Are you the thought,
Or are you aware of the thought?
Thoughts come and go like clouds in the sky,
But what remains is this open,
Clear,
Wide-awake sky.
Who am I?
Maintain vigilance in your inquiry,
Asking the question with genuine curiosity.
Who am I?
When you get distracted by thought,
Follow the thought.
Where is the thought located?
Is it located in the body,
Behind the eyes,
In the head?
When you search for that thought,
Notice what happens.
You'll notice that thoughts are insubstantial.
We cannot locate thoughts.
We are simply the space in which thoughts arise,
In which all content arises.
And despite the movement of thought,
Remain deep in your inquiry.
Who am I?
Who is thinking?
Who is sitting?
Who am I?
Inquire and remain open.
Continue to settle the mind in open,
Clear,
Alert awareness,
Without grasping to thought,
Without attaching to thought.
When the mind contracts and seeks distraction,
Without judgment,
Search for the I that thinks.
Who is this I that seeks to know?
Who is this I that wishes to cling to something?
What answer does this I wish to seek?
As you inquire with the question,
Who am I?
Rest in the open space that remains ever-present.
And bring yourself back to the experience of yourself.
Before the mind searches elsewhere for happiness and peace.
There is nothing to expect,
Nothing to gain,
Nothing to lose.
Nothing to think about.
Just simply resting,
Wide awake,
Clear,
Open,
Alert awareness.
And you may begin to notice the direct experience of contraction and openness.
And so just continuously bringing yourself back into this open awareness.
Shifting from a state of clinging to thought forms,
And gently guiding yourself back into an open presence.
Who am I?
Who is meditating?
Who is sitting?
Who is aware of arising content?
Who is aware when thoughts arise?
Be the open space.
Continue to inquire and listen.
Who am I?
The question will lead you to the direct experience of yourself.
You don't have to wait for something to happen.
Simply recognize the presence,
And the self-knowing quality of awareness.
What you search for is here,
Now,
In this moment.
Be the space in which all arising phenomena occurs.
We are not looking for something that is different.
Who am I?
Inquire with genuine curiosity.
Be diligent.
Who am I?
May you remember who you are.
And hold this direct experience as you go about your day.
Remain settled in your peace.
Open in your heart.
And unattached to the mind's activities.
Simply rest in the space in which all arising phenomena occurs.
The place of peace.
Home.
Your true nature.
